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Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

Kinesthetic Senses.

Uwe Proske¹, Simon C Gandevia²

¹Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.

Comprehensive Physiology

|July 7, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Muscle vibration can create illusions of body position and movement by stimulating muscle spindles. The perceived illusion is influenced by muscle conditioning and how sensory signals are processed in the brain.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Physiology
Somatosensation

Background:

Kinesthesia, the sense of body position and movement, is crucial for proprioception.
Muscle vibration is a key method for probing kinesthetic perception by activating muscle spindle afferents.
Illusions of movement and position can be induced by selectively vibrating muscles.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the mechanisms underlying kinesthetic illusions induced by muscle vibration.
To explore the role of muscle spindle afferents and thixotropy in kinesthetic perception.
To understand the neural basis of body ownership and agency related to kinesthesia.

Main Methods:

Muscle vibration applied to elbow flexors or extensors to elicit illusory sensations.
Comparison of vibration effects on single muscle groups versus antagonist co-vibration.
Assessment of illusion magnitude influenced by muscle thixotropy and conditioning.
Subjective tasks like matching or pointing to measure perceived position and movement.

Main Results:

Vibration of elbow flexors caused forearm extension illusions; extensor vibration caused flexion illusions.
Co-vibration of flexors and extensors at the same frequency did not produce illusions due to perceived signal differences.
The magnitude of kinesthetic illusions was modulated by prior muscle conditioning, linked to thixotropy.
Different tasks (matching vs. pointing) placed varying importance on muscle spindle signals.

Conclusions:

Muscle vibration effectively manipulates kinesthetic perception, highlighting the role of muscle spindle afferents.
Thixotropy influences the subjective experience of kinesthetic illusions.
Kinesthetic information, alongside vision and touch, contributes to body ownership and the sense of agency.
Neuroimaging is advancing our understanding of the brain regions involved in generating these somatosensory experiences.